How to Fix Windows Security Center Service Cannot Be Started

Issue: Windows Security Center Service Cannot Be Started

Several users say that they receive this error message “Windows Security Center service can’t be started” on their screen when trying to run Security Center.

Do you know what the cause of the security center service can’t be started issue is and how to fix it? This issue might be caused by the following reasons:

1. Security Center is not configured to start correctly.
2. The “log on user” for Security Center is configured incorrectly.
3. A malware infection is preventing the service from starting or is disabling the service after it has started.

In fact, other reasons can also cause the security center service missing. No matter what the reason is, the most important thing is to fix this problem. And this post offers you some methods to solve this problem.

MiniTool System Booster TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

7 Solutions to Windows Security Center Service Cannot Be Started

When the issue happens, the methods below can help you solve it. You may not have to try them all, just try until you find one that works for you.

Solution 1: Make Sure You’ve Enabled Windows Security Center

You can check whether Windows Security Center is enabled in the Registry Editor. The last thing you want is to have no way of undoing disastrous changes if your PC becomes unusable, so make sure you create a system restore point first. With your system restore point created, follow the steps below to enable Windows Security Center:

Step 1: Press Win + R to open the Run box.

Step 2: Type regedit in the box and click OK to enter Registry Editor. If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes on the popup window.

Step 3: In the address bar of the Registry Editor, copy and paste the path below. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SecurityHealthService

Step 4: Double-click the Start.

Step 5: If the Value data is set to 4, it means that Windows Security Center is disabled. Set it to 2 and click OK to save the changes.

Step 6: Do step 4 and step 5 for below path as well: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wscsvc

When all steps are finished, quit Registry Editor and check if you’ll receive the error message.

Solution 2: Ensure that Security Center Is Configured Correctly

To start Windows Security Center properly, make sure that the Security Center service is configured correctly. To do this, follow these steps:

Step 1: Press Win + R to open the Run box.

Step 2: Type services.msc in the box and click OK to open Service.

Step 3: Locate and right-click Security Center, and select Properties.

Step 4: Go to the General tab > Startup type to Automatic > Start.

Step 5: Then click Apply > OK.

Step 6: After finishing all the steps, reboot your computer.

Solution 3: Check Whether the Service Is Running as a Local Service

The Windows Security Center service disabled automatically issue may occur when the Security Center service is not running under the Local Service account. Thus, to fix the service disabled automatically problem of Windows 10, please follow the steps below:

Step 1: Press Win + R to open the Run box.

Step 2: Type services.msc in the box and click OK to open Service.

Step 3: Locate Security Center and double-click it.

Step 4: Go to the Log On tab, then select This account and click Browse.

Step 5: Type Local Service in the box and click OK to go on.

Step 6: Input the password, confirm the password and click Apply > OK.

Step 7: Repeat all the above steps for another service – Windows Management Instrumentation.

Step 8: Reboot Your computer to see if this problem is solved.

Solution 4: Repair the WMI Repository

A corrupt WMI Repository can make Windows Security Center fail to start, so repairing it can fix the issue in most cases. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Type cmd in the search box to locate Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.

Step 2: Type winmgmt /verifyrepository and hit Enter.

But if you get the message “WMI repository is inconsistent”, it means the WMI repository is corrupted and you need to repair it. To do so, follow the steps below:

Step 3: Type winmgmt /salvagerepository and hit Enter.

Step 4: After getting the message “WMI repository has been salvaged”, restart your PC to check if the Windows Security Center service missing issue is fixed.

Solution 5: Run System File Checker

System File Checker (SFC) is a useful utility built into Microsoft Windows. You can use it to scan and repair the corrupted system files when you find Windows Security Center service disabled automatically.

Step 1: Type cmd in the search box to locate Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.

Step 2: Type sfc /scannow and hit Enter.

Step 3: When the process ends, reboot your computer.

Solution 6: Perform a Clean Boot

If an unrecognized error like security center service missing occurs when your computer starts, preforming a clean boot can help you troubleshoot the problem because it can shut down non-Microsoft services and open only the most basic ones. Follow the steps below to run a clean boot:

Step 1: Press Win + R to open the Run dialog, then type msconfig to open System Configuration.

Step 2: Under the General tab, choose Selective startup and uncheck Load startup.

Step 3: Go to the Service tab, check the option Hide all Microsoft services, and click Disable all.

Step 4: Go to the Startup tab, click Open Task Manager, then, right-click each enabled startup item and select Disable.

Step 5: Return to System Configuration and click Apply & OK to save the changes.

Step 6: Restart your computer.

Solution 7: Reset Your Windows

If none of the above solutions have worked, it might be time for the last resort. To fix the error once and for all, we recommend that you back up all your data and reset Windows to its factory defaults. We hope you don’t need to do this, but it’s better than using your computer without a functioning Windows Security Center.

Step 1: Click Start > Setting > Update & Security > Recovery.

Step 2: Find Reset this PC part from the right-hand panel and click on the Get started button.

Step 3: Choose to Keep my files or Remove everything (take the latter as an example).

Step 4: Choose from Just remove my files and Remove files and clean the drive.

Step 5: Click Next > Reset > Continue and wait the process to complete.

Top Recommendation – Back up Your Operating System

The Security Center monitors the security and maintenance status of the computer. It plays an important role in System security. When the Windows Security Center service can’t be started, it may fail to tell you the information about system security and virus defense.

To keep PC safe, you can try to create a system image that can be used to restore the computer to an earlier date when some accidents happen, such as virus attacks, so that you can protect your computer operating system. To backup system, the professional computer backup software – MiniTool ShadowMaker is recommended.

MiniTool ShadowMaker can help you backup files and folders, the Windows operating system, the whole disk, and selected partitions. It can also help you synchronize your files and folders to different destinations.

So, to keep computer and data safe, you can download MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial from the following button or choose to get an advanced one.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Now, we will show you how to back up your operating system.

Step 1: Install MiniTool ShadowMaker, launch it and click Keep Trial.

Step 2: Enter its main interface and click Backup.

Step 3: In the SOURCE section, the system required partitions are checked by default. Thus, just click DESTINATION to choose a destination path to store the system image. It is recommended to choose a USB flash drive as the destination.

Step 4: Go back to the Backup tab, and select Back Up Now or Back Up Later.

Bottom Line

To conclude, this post has presented seven methods to fix the security center service can’t be started issue. If you get the same error message, you can take them and try them out.

In addition, MiniTool ShadowMaker is a good choice to create a backup to keep your system and data safe. If you have any problem about MiniTool ShadowMaker, please don’t hesitate to contact us via [email protected].

Windows Security Center Service Cannot Be Started FAQ